Destination: Dash
by Writer's-BlockDP
Summary: And Danny thought he had it bad when he and Dash were shrunk? Now the two boys are trapped in a world where they must live out their worst fears, including Danny's evil older self, darkness, and ironically, ghosts. Will Danny’s secret be revealed?
1. Despairing Detention

**Just to let you know, this is the first fic I have posted with multiple chapters, so please bear with me as I try to sort it out.**

**Disclaimer: The great wonderful and awesome Butch Hartman owns DP. I don't. I'm not going to repost a disclaimer on every chapter simply because if you get to them then you have already read this one!**

**Summary: ****And Danny thought he had it bad when he and Dash were shrunk? Now the two boys are trapped in a world where they must live out their worst fears, including Danny's evilfuture self, darkness, and, ironically, ghosts. Will Danny's secret be revealed? How far is he willing to go to ensure that they both return in one piece?**

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Danny Fenton drummed his fingers idly on his desk as he waited for detention to end. The only other student in the room glared at him for the billionth time since the end of the school day.

Dash Baxter was the quarterback of the Casper High Ravens, along with head of both the "A-list" and of the Casper High Bully Squad. It wasn't an actual organized club, but it might as well have been with all the time he spent participating in the activities.

That was the reason for the detention. Mr. Lancer had caught him shoving Danny Fenton and Tucker Foley into their lockers.

Danny was in detention because he had been late for Lancer's class later that day.

The teacher glanced up from the tests he was grading, looked at the clock, and announced, "You boys are free to go."

Even before he had finished speaking both teens were out the door. Danny hurried to his locker, eager to get his stuff and get out of there before Dash caught up with him. The boy was just turning to leave when he spotted Dash barreling down the hallway.

Danny had just about resigned himself to running for his life when he suddenly shivered and saw his breath for a moment. The lights dimmed as the hallway took on an ominous dark green glow.

Dash stared around himself in fear, stopping short in the middle of the hall.

A black vortex with swirls of red moving through it opened just a few yards from Danny. Two frightening red eyes glowed from deep within the darkness.

When Danny caught sight of these there was only one thing he could think to say. "Oh, crud."

_--Insert Theme Song Here--_

Dash stared wide eyed as a dark humanoid figure stepped out of the black and red portal.

With black skin, black clothing trimmed with red, and those creepy red eyes, it was a truly frightening picture. Adding to the scene was a long black cape that billowed in nonexistent wind and black flames tinged with red for hair.

Danny, on the other hand, seemed almost bored. Arms crossed, he rolled his eyes. "Come on, what are you supposed to be? Even Johnny 13's Shadow looks better than you! And don't even get me started on the direct rip off from Plasmius. I keep telling him that he should copyright that whole 'cape and red eyes' thing, but no, he never listens to me…"

Danny cut himself off with a sudden leap to one side to avoid a black ectoblast. Apparently this new guy had a few anger management issues.

"I am Despair. Prepare for your worst nightmare."

Danny just rolled his eyes again. "Okay, that's just a little too much like the 'corrugated cardboard cubes of doom' to be scary."

Red eyes narrowed at this belittlement. Imagine, _him_ being compared with the _Box Ghost_!

The hallway became nearly pitch black around the three figures. Despair laughed, an evil cackle that made Dash's knees quiver and threaten to give out. "You should not have gotten on my bad side, foolish mortal! Now you shall not escape my grasp until your worst fears have come to life!"

In a swirl of black and red Despair disappeared. The blackness still shrouded Danny and Dash on all sides, and they were unable to see more than a few feet in front of them.

The blackness slowly faded, and once he could see again Danny did a double take. The two boys were surrounded on all sides by tall walls and a high ceiling. Both these and the floor were made out of stone, and from where they were standing there was only one direction to go.

Danny walked cautiously forward, peering around the corner. Turning back to Dash and looking rather nervous, the boy stated, "We're in a maze."

Dash's eyes widened. "So I guess this means we're not in school anymore, huh?"

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**Yes, Dash is a moron, isn't he? He's a very entertaining character to work with though. He tortures Danny, doesn't know his secret, has secret fears, and is enough of a moron to use him for comic relief! Yay!**

**Just to enlighten all of you, I'm gonna be going to camp next week. The week after that I'll be home. The following two weeks I will be at other camps. My updates may be sporatic for a while, but I will try to make them whenever I am able to and keep this story moving.**

**In Maternal Instinct, did anyone ever pay attention to the book Vlad was reading when Maddie and Danny came back into his house? He put it down to say, "Maddie! Daniel! You've returned to me! Oh, and not a moment too soon!" The title of the book was _Romance for Rich Creepy Dummies_. Hehe. Now all he needs to do is adopt a cat and all will be right with the world...**

**Ok, you all need to press that cute little button down there and let me know what you think so far! Go ahead... you know you want to!**


	2. Fear Itself

**Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! This chapter is somewhat short, but I'll have the next up within the next three days, you have my word on that! I already have it all typed out, edited, and uploaded to my documents, so all I need to do is post it.**

**Sorry if anyone seems a bit ooc, I haven't actually watched any of my taped DP episodes in a while (I have them all, though the first is on a fuzzy tape and has really bad picture). All the dialogue and personality traits are done from memory and from the fact that I've been reading an enormosly huge amount of fanfiction without watching the show. Let me know if you think anyone could be portrayed better and what you think is wrong, and I'll try to correct it in furute chapters.**

**So without further adeau, here's Chapter One: _Fear Itself._**

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Danny blinked twice, staring at Dash in amazement. "I don't think we're even in our own _dimension_ anymore."

He walked forward to the next fork, turning back to Dash. "You coming?"

The quarterback's eyes grew wide again. If he kept this up he would never be able to make his face return to normal ever again. "Are you crazy? We're gonna get killed!"

Danny shrugged, "If you wanna stay here it's fine with me, but I wanna at least _try_ to get out of here alive." _'Or at least as alive as I was going in,'_ he added mentally.

He then found himself wondering if his powers still worked here. Pulling his arm out of Dash's sight, he quickly made it invisible. A green glow appeared around his hand, disappearing as he reassured himself that at last those two things still worked. If they did then it was likely that everything else did as well. He couldn't test that assumption now, Dash was already giving him curious looks. He would just have to hope that he wouldn't have to use his powers at all, and pray that they would all function properly if he did.

Dash interrupted Danny's thoughts with an angry accusation. "If you hadn't made fun of that ghost we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!"

Danny glanced up at the other boy, completely unconcerned. He started down the left fork as he replied, "We would be here no matter what. He would have found some reason to hate us. Some ghosts don't like people just because they're still breathing."

Dash gave Danny yet another curious look as he caught up. "You say that like you're not."

The smaller of the two boys winced slightly at that, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling uneasily. He suddenly seemed to realize something and stopped short. "Dash? What are you most afraid of?"

Dash looked just plain furious now. He grabbed Danny by the collar and pinned him up against the wall, snarling a warning at the other boy.

Danny held up his hands in a condescending gesture. "Despair said we would live out our worst fears. I just want to know what we're up against."

Dash lowered him to the ground slowly, realization finally dawning on his face. He looked down at the ground as they continued to walk, turning right when the hall dead ended into a "T". "I hate the dark," he admitted. "And being puny, but that's another story."

It was all Danny could do not to laugh at the memories of a mini version of Dash having a panic attack in the Fenton's kitchen.

"What about you?"

Danny flinched visibly at Dash's question. He looked down at the floor, his eyes clouded with painful memories. "Myself." The word was spoken in an almost inaudible whisper. "I'm afraid of what I could do to anyone who got in my way."

Dash almost didn't hear the response, but when he had deciphered what Fenton had said he became puzzled. Why would he be afraid of himself?

Dash's thoughts were interrupted by a brilliant green blast that was suddenly flying straight toward him.

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**I actually _do_ have an idea for where I'm going with this, so don't worrry. The second half of Danny's fears will come about in chapters three and four, so stick around!**

**Oh, and I'll give you a cookie if you hit that absolutely wonderful little button down there! Let me know what you think!**


	3. Futuristic Fury

**(_an electronic voice says: You've got reviews!)_ Yay! _Hands out cookies (Chocolate chip, but they're those cool chips with peanut butter swirled through them)_.**

**Any thoughts as to who it is that fired the blast? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count!**

**Thankeys to all wonderful reviewers who get dozens of cookies! I actually have some, and would give them to you for real if I could figure out how to send edible food through the internet...**

**Oh, and acosta perez jose ramiro- Wait until you see what's coming in the nexttwo chapters! Danny won't even need to use his power at all... you have to read to find out more, cause my lips (and fingers) are sealed!**

**Anyway, on to Chapter 2: _Futuristic Fury_ (Come on, you knew he was gonna show up! That's why the first two guesses didn't count!)**

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Dash could do nothing but watch as a beam of green light hurtled out of the darkness ahead of the two boys, heading straight for him.

He suddenly felt himself being propelled to one side by a great force. Danny had somehow managed to push the larger boy out of the way, but was unable to move in time to get away himself. The green energy exploded on contact, and Danny cried out in pain as he was sent tumbling into the wall.

"Still playing the hero, I see. When will _I_ ever learn?" The voice seemed almost familiar to Dash, though he couldn't place it.

Danny's eyes were scrunched tightly shut, teeth gritted as he replied, "You're never going to exist. I won't become you."

The figure stepped into the light and Dash sucked in a breath. Since when did Fenton not get along with Danny Phantom? This guy looked a lot different, but Dash would know that insignia anywhere.

Sure, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were ghost hunters bent on ripping Phantom apart molecule by molecule, but he had never known that their son was interested in ghosts at all.

Dash caught a glimpse of blue eyes as Danny stood and looked at him. "Dash, run."

The command was soft, but even though this was the boy he bullied on a daily basis, Dash found himself obeying without question. He stopped once he was around the nearest corner, peaking back around the stone.

One question was lingering in his mind. Why had Danny mentioned _becoming_ this ghost?

Now Danny was facing Phantom determination in his sparkling blue eyes. If looks could kill, the ghost would be a smoldering pile of ashes by this point.

Phantom threw out his arm and another green blast hit the floor where Danny had been standing only moments before.

The boy himself had performed a surprisingly graceful back flip, landing lightly on his feet about two yards away. "You can't hurt me. What happens to you then?"

The ghost cackled, "You really think I care about that anymore? Your future is sealed."

Fenton's eyes shone with anger, and perhaps a bit of a shimmer of sadness as well. "It won't matter if you kill them again, I won't let Vlad rip me apart. You'll never exist."

With these words, Phantom seemed to deteriorate, rapidly becoming a mist that filled the hall before slowly fading out of existence.

Dash walked out from behind the corner, "Okay, even though I didn't understand half of that, it was still totally awesome!"

Only then did he notice that Danny was breathing hard and trembling slightly. "Dude, you okay?" Dash had always bullied Danny because he seemed weak and defenseless. Now that he finally saw the most vulnerable side of Fenton, he also had caught a glimpse of the stronger and braver side.

Danny sighed, "I've been better, but I'll be fine." Realization seemed to dawn along with resignation. "Well, now that we've gotten through one of my fears, I'd say the lights are gonna go out right about..." they were plunged into darkness, "…now," Danny finished with a sigh.

An extremely girly scream nearly shattered Danny's right eardrum. He winced, raising his hand in an attempt to block the sound. Luckily for his hearing, it only lasted for a few moments. Any longer and he would have become partially deaf.

Concentration for a moment, Danny managed to create a glowing green ball hovering in the air in front of the two boys. By the light that this cast on his companion, he could see Dash's look of terror and panic soften.

Wanting to keep moving, Danny allowed the source of light to drift down the hall. The still-frightened quarterback followed eagerly, not about to be left in the dark again.

They walked on in this manner for quite some time, any conversation forced and tense. The truth was, they were both terrified of what was to come.

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**Okay people, time for a vote! Do you want Dash to find out his secret? Should Danny tell him, be forced to change in order to save him, or should Dash just put two and two together? Please give me your opinion along with reasons to back it up. Your vote counts and will TOTALLY alter the ending of this fic either way. I must say, I was somewhat disappointed with Micro Management because Dash didn't find out. That is actually where some of the inspiration for this fic came from. I knew that it could mean bad things for the plotline of the whole show, but I still was upset, and want this to help make up for it.**

**_(dances)_ Dash is afraid of the dark! Dash is afraid of the dark! ha ha ha, ha ha ha! ha ha ha, ha ha ha!**

**Next update will be on Saturday sometime, so check back!**

**So... go ahead and vote, let me know what you think about it so far.**


	4. Stolen SelfControl

**This is how the votes are so far:**

**Dash figures it out on his own: 5**

**He isn't smart enough to figure it out, but still finds out: 1**

**Danny is forced to transform: 8**

**Danny should flat-out tell Dash: 1**

**There were also 3 people who want him to find out but didn't state a preferred method.**

**_I'm thinking I'm gonna... wait, why am I telling you this? You'll find out when you read the rest of the fic!_**

**And to answer a question from Daphne22, Dash was so afraid of the dark and so thankful to have a light, (plus being so moronic- is that a word?) that he didn't question where the glowing green ball came from. Danny just created a different type of ectoblast that he can control after it leaves his hand. Hey, we've read it in tons of other fics, and I've often wondered if he will ever get that power in the series, so why not put it in here?**

**So, let's get on to Chapter 3: _Stolen Self-Control_.**

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Danny was getting bored. They had been walking through the semi-dark hall for a long time now. He had mostly guessed correctly as far as which direction to go when they came to a fork, though they occasionally had to turn around at a dead end.

Spying something ahead, Danny paled and allowed the floating green ball to disintegrate. He wasstill amazed that Dash was too afraid of the darkness surrounding him to wonder where the ball had come from. A faint red-tinted glow remained on the walls, coming from around the next corner.

Dash took off for the light, not wanting to be in the darkness for any longer than he had to.

Reaching out, Danny was barely able to grab the larger boy's arm. Planting his feet firmly, he pulled back and somehow managed to stop the quarterback from moving further forward.

Dash turned to him, anger showing plainly in his defiant purple eyes.

Danny nervously hissed, "Haven't you learned _anything_ from living in the most haunted city on Earth?"

The bully noticeably became paler now. "You think it's a ghost?"

Danny rolled his eyes sarcastically, "No, I think it's the _other_ being that's been terrorizing the town and glows."

Keeping low and close to the wall, Danny ignored Dash's reaction and moved forward. He poked his head around the corner. The boy suddenly stumbled backward with a loud grunt, then turned to Dash.

With one swift arm motion he had Dash pinned tightly against the stone.

The larger boy felt his breath leave his lungs as Danny landed a hard punch to his stomach, then another to his jaw.

Dash swung a fist at Danny, but missed as Danny leaped out of the way with the same uncanny grace he had used earlier in the "fight" against Danny Phantom.

Dash suddenly found himself pinned to the wall by the wrists, Danny's grip amazingly and unnaturally strong.

His wrists were released as Danny spun around; Dash saw what was coming but had no time to avoid it as a powerful roundhouse kick caught him in the ribs.

Gasping for air and gaping at the boy he normally bullied, Dash realized something.

The eyes staring at him from under a mop of ebony hair were not sky blue as they usually were, but were a deep blood red.

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**I was going to cut off the chapter here, but it wasn't even a page on Microsoft Word (which I obviously don't own!), and all the others are at least 50 percent bigger than that, so I decided to combine chapters three and four. Aren't you all happy? Applause gives you bonus points (and extra prizes)!**

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This was a startling realization. Whoever it was beating him up, it wasn't the person he picked on. It may have been Danny's body, but the crimson eyes looking at him now definitely did not belong to the teen he was used to.

Another hard blow to the head snapped Dash out of his reverie and snapped his shoulder against the wall. He grunted in pain, thinking something along the lines of that hurting tomorrow.

Then yet another thought occurred to him. This was _Danny Fenton's_ body beating him up here. Fenton may not be in control, but that doesn't mean that Dash can't still pummel him.

Fear in addition to anger fueled the hard cuff that he managed to land on Danny's shoulder. The boy was sent reeling into the wall, snapping his head back on the stone with a loud crack.

He hardly seemed to notice the blow, shaking it off and coming back.

The next thing the quarterback knew, he was on the ground with Danny's foot on his chest, pressing harder and harder and now he can't breathe and thinks he's going to pass out from lack of air and the pressure just keeps coming and his ribs are going to shatter into a million pieces soon unless this great weight is lifted.

Just as he was about to enter the long dark tunnel with the light at the end, he felt the weight on the foot let up slightly, then a lot.

His vision clears to see the red eyes flicker back to deep ocean blue. The usually crystal clear orbs are clouded with effort as Danny grunts softly, "The crystal ball…"

Then he is on his knees and his eyes are turning back to crimson as his face lights up in maddening hatred for the one before him.

Dash manages to stand up and sprint toward the corner. Upon rounding it he sees a glowing red ball on the end of a staff. It is held in the hand of some guy that is all painted up like a clown with red eyes and a huge grin on his face.

Dash's eyes narrow at the new person, mumbling, "I hate clowns."

Then as Freak Show cowers, he swings a punch. It hits dead on and the ringmaster lets go of the staff as he staggers several feet to the left.

Now Danny is darting around the corner and slamming into Dash, taking him down with ease.

Dash manages to get his feet up over him and throws Danny off of him, demanding an answer from Freak Show at the same time. "What did you do to him?"

The clown laughed. "I simply removed his self-control. He is doing nothing that he has not thought about before, and nothing beyond his own abilities."

Now Danny was back with another blow to the stomach and Dash was flying backward from the force.

His back hit the staff where it was leaning against the wall.

It teetered for a few seconds before falling with a tremendous crash as it shattered on the floor. A blue mist left it and flew into Danny's chest.

He staggered back a few steps before a red mist flew out of him and dissipated in the air. His eyes returned to their normal cerulean blue for a split second before they closed and the boy collapsed in a heap on the ground.

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**Aren't I great? I love cliffys unless I'm reading them... as long as I'm the writer and I know how it's gonna turn out, I'm fine with them. When I'm reading them... well, let's just say I'm at the head of the mob of frustrated readers eager for the next update.**

**I'm leaving for camp tomorrow, and won't be back until next Saturday, so I'll update then.**

**When you press the button down there you get a prize! I'll award them at the same time as my next update, so please let me know what you think!**


	5. Suspicious Minds

**Okay, I just got back form camp and have a full 24 hours at home before I leave for the next one. Sorry about any confusion regarding the sudden change in tenses in the last chapter, I just have it from a strange point of view. Mostly 3rd person limited from Dash's perspective, but a little bit of Danny too. That part with the wierd tenses was from Dash being unable to breath. The pain and confusion was causing him to not think straight, and I was trying to portray that idea.**

**I agree with many of you that Dash is probably not smart enough to figure it out completely on this own, but you have no idea what crazy thoughts are running through my mind right now. I think you will all be happy with the way he will figure it out (yes, he definately will, nobody said otherwise in a review and I already wanted him to find out before that).**

**((_Hands out flamingo stuffed animals))_ Thanks for the reviews, applause, etc. everybody!**

**So, anyway, this is Chapter 4: _Suspicious Minds_**

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Dash had been sitting against the wall near Danny for about twenty minutes now, pondering over the events of the day. He hadn't noticed during the fight, but apparently the lights had come back on at some point while he was busy being a human punching bag, something he had never before in his life experienced.

When Despair showed up at the school, Danny hadn't seemed fearful. He actually looked bored, and, judging by the way he had been taunting the ghost, almost a bit cocky.

Then he had said he was afraid of himself and the damage he could cause, the things he could do. Rubbing his sore shoulder, Dash winced at the reality of that statement.

Fenton had told Danny Phantom that he would never become him.

He was able to dodge blasts and blows unbelievingly effortlessly and with a measure of grace that Dash had never seen before in the normally clumsy boy.

Then that clown guy had said something about self-control being the only reason Danny hadn't pummeled Dash before.

What really shocked him was the idea that Danny could kill him at any time, or at least injured him badly enough to send him to the hospital.

What was it that made him hold back? Why did he put up with being shoved into his locker and being pushed around every day? And how did such a geeky seemingly-normal teen learn to fight like that?

He heard an extremely soft moan from beside him, and turned to see Danny's eyes flutter open.

"Ugh, what hit me?" Danny winced as he sat up, raising a hand to the back of his head.

Dash grimaced when he realized that the other boy must have a nasty bump from when his head had snapped back against the wall earlier. "Sorry about that," he said, something he rarely ever did. "It was self-defense."

A questioning look appeared on Danny's face for a moment, disappearing quickly when he remembered what had happened. He was able to remember every moment of the fight with absolute clarity. The surprise and pain on Dash's face, the satisfying sound of a well-landed punch, it was all there.

What scared him the most was the fact that – in some sort of sick, twisted way – he had enjoyed it.

Then the reality of what Dash had just said dawned on him. "Did you just _apologize_? To _me_? After I almost _killed you_?"

Dash shrugged, "It wasn't really you. You were being controlled, right?"

Danny looked away, slowly shaking his head. "No. All he did was make me do something I've been dreaming about for months. I may not have normally done that, but that doesn't mean I haven't thought about it." He closed his eyes. "I enjoyed it. Every moment of revenge for all those times… That's what scares me the most."

With that he got up and started walking, not checking to see if Dash was following him. He knew he would eventually. He was right.

The jock broke into a jog to catch up with Danny's fast strides. "Hey man, can I ask you a question?"

Danny glanced up, some of his usual dry humor showing as he pointed out, "You just did."

Dash ignored him and asked anyway. "How did you learn to fight like that?"

Black hair covered his eyes as Danny returned his gaze to the ground, hands shoved deep into his pockets. When he replied, he seemed almost afraid, like he was choosing his words carefully. "I've had a lot of practice."

Dash bit back a snarl of frustration. Danny was completely terrified of something, he could see it on his face. Dash was used to receiving looks like that very often, though rarely had it been as carefully masked as Fenton's.

Whenever a question like that was asked, however, the mask would slip ever so slightly and Dash would catch a glimpse of pure terror.

Danny sighed, "Sometimes I just want to be normal. Like Tucker, or even like you. I don't want to be responsible. I don't want to face the possibility of summer school or repeating a year because I'm so busy that I can't keep my grades up. I don't want Jazz trying to psychoanalyze me. I don't want my parents accusing me of doing drugs. And don't even get me started on what nuthouse they're gonna put me in the next time Mr. Lancer tells me that I can do better than this. I'd like to see him even _try_ to live my life."

Danny stopped, apparently as surprised by his rant as Dash was. They walked on for about ten minutes in silence, Dash's mind working in overdrive the whole time.

Fenton was in danger of repeating a grade?

His parents thought he was doing drugs?

What was he responsible for?

Why did he want to be normal so badly?

And where in the world had he gotten practice fighting like that?

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**Hey, I only said that Dash wasn't smart enough to figure it out completely, I never said he couldn't get close!**

**I haven't written the next chapter yet, but hopefully will get a chance to this week at camp. I already have a couple of ideas for where I'm going next. This was mostly a filler chapter. I'm hoping to get it up on Saturday, though it is still unsure at this point if I will have written enough at camp to make a whole chapter.**

**The more reviews, the faster it will be, because the more readers I know like the story, the more motavation I have for finishing it quickly.**


	6. Shadowed Hearts

**Sorry for the extra day's wait for this chapter. I managed to write two and get started on another while at camp last week, but didn't get a chance to type anything yesterday. I'll update with the next one soon to make up for it.**

**Thankeys everyone for all the wonderful reviews. I did have a good time at both camps, and I'm home for good now, so updates should be frequent unless this somehow drags out until after school starts. I'm not entirely sure how in the world that could be even remotely possible, though. I have the next several chapters pretty planned out to make up for writer's block (hehe, hence my name) for about a week and a half.**

**Dash is such great comic relief in the show, and I am trying to drag a little of that over into this story as well. I am also trying to reveal a slightly deeper side to him. Nobody is THAT moronic... except for maybe Technus or the Box Ghost...**

**Anyway, this chapter was originally titled _Paulina Phantasies_, but I didn't really think it fit by the time I was done writing it, so I renamed it. Paulina only plays an extremely small role, so I didn't think she deserved an entire chappy named after her.**

**So, on to Chapter 5: _Shadowed Hearts_.**

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During the ten minutes that Dash had spent pondering these questions about Fenton, Danny's mind was racing as well. He was trying to think of any possible questions that Dash may ask in the future and what his responses should be.

The jock was walking a few feet ahead of him, so he was extremely surprised when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. A voice with a slight Spanish accent purred in his ear with a soft, "Hello."

Danny whirled around just fast enough to receive a kiss directly on the lips. His startled yelp was partially cut off by Paulina's lips on his.

Dash was broken out of his thoughts by the muffled sound and turned around just in time to see a very surprised and somewhat scared Danny falling against the wall with Paulina pressed against him.

Danny struggled for a moment before managing to lift his arms from his sides to Paulina's shoulders to push her away.

It had only been recently that Danny had realized that Paulina really was as shallow as Sam had always said she was. When he had liked her before it had been because of her beauty, not because of her "shining" personality.

Last month he had experimented with dating Valerie, but she could never love both sides of him. The same was true of Paulina.

Only three normal- err, somewhat normal…they were all a little insane- humans in the world knew about him, and they accepted him for who he was.

He was still sort of confused about his feelings for one of them. He already knew that he liked Sam as more than a friend; he just had to come completely to terms with it and figure out just how he did feel. Besides, he was still unsure of if she would ever return his feelings.

When he broke away from Paulina there was hurt in her eyes as they seemed to give off a faint angry glow. Realization dawned on his face.

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Dash felt extreme anger, jealousy, and hatred such as he had never felt before bubble up from deep within, even though he knew that Danny was not doing this on purpose. This much was proven when Fenton shoved the girl away before seeming to realize something.

"Kitty, get out of her!"

A very unnatural growl came from Paulina's throat as she snapped back, "No! And you can't make me!"

Danny's eyes narrowed dangerously as he shot back at her, "You know I can. Get out of her."

Paulina crossed her arms stubbornly. "No way. I'm not leaving."

Danny sighed, "What is it with you guys and always doing things that hard way?" He took a firm hold on Paulina's shoulders again and closed his eyes.

Moments later, a blur of green and red flew out of Paulina and against the far wall. The Latina girl crumpled to the ground and dissipated into the air, yet another creation of this abnormal world.

The girl slowly shook her head back and forth to clear it, messy green locks swaying. She glared at Danny as he asked fiercely, "Where's Johnny?"

He had only barely heard the faint sound of an engine before Shadow wrapped itself around him. The black matter pinned Danny's arms tightly to his sides even as he began to struggle and thrash to get free.

A blond boy decked out in leather pulled up on a motorcycle. "Shadow, heel!"

With a reluctant grumble, the Shadow released Danny as it returned to its master.

"Yo, punk! Whacha doin' hangin' wit' my girl again?"

Kitty scoffed at him angrily, "Ugh, I am _not_ your girl. I don't belong to anybody."

Danny groaned. "Why is this looking more and more familiar with every passing second?"

Dash was just getting more and more confused with every passing second.

These new people were ghosts; there was no doubt about that, judging by their faint auras. They both looked like they had been teens when they died; there was no telling exactly how long ago that had been. Though the motorcycle definitely set a few limits on the time frame.

The two ghostly teens began to bicker like an old married couple, and Danny rolled his eyes.

He turned to Dash, "They'll keep at it for hours. We can go ahead and just leave."

Together they turned and continued down the path in companionable silence, something the two boys had never experienced in each other's presence.

The hall suddenly filled with dark red and black smoke, and an evil chuckle permeated the air. "You weak and defenseless mortals, you may have passed my first series of tests, but how well will you do when nothing is an illusion anymore, and everything you face is reality?"

A misty picture appeared in front of the two. One side showed Mr. and Mrs. Fenton gagged and tied together, dangling from the ceiling on a rope over a pit of bubbling lava.

The other side showed Mr. and Mrs. Baxter in a similar predicament over a tank of piranhas that were already jumping out of the water and trying to get a bite.

Both ropes were slowly being lowered, bringing the two sets of parents ever closer to their awaiting doom.

Despair laughed again. "They are at opposite sides of the maze, so chose wisely in who you will save."

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**I'm mostly focusing on Danny's fears, not so much on Dash's, just because Danny's are what will lead up to how Dash finds out in the end... well, duh, of course he finds out, has nobody been reading the reviews or what I posted about the votes?**

**The next chapter is called _Cutting Loose_ and should be posted sometime between Tuesday morning and Thursday night, no promises on when.**

**Reviews earn a kitten! (I have a cat that just gave birth to 5, and another cat that is pregnant and ready to explode at any moment-- BTW, the 5 are named Snoopy, Fido, Scooby, Rover, and Spot! hehe)**


	7. Cutting Loose

**Sorry for the wait, I had unexpected company spending the night (girls ages 7 and 9, and their 3 and 12 year old brothers). This chapter is really short, but to make up for it I will have the next posted this weekend.**

**So, uh, yeah. This is Chapter 6: _Cutting Loose_.**

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Danny and Dash glanced several times between each other and the image of their parents. Then they both realized at the same time that Despair hadn't told them where in the maze their parents were located.

In unison they took off down the hall, turning right at the next fork. After a period of time that seemed like an eternity, they found the Baxters. The hungry piranhas were jumping up from their tank and snapping at their feet already.

Dash rushed to free them, and once Danny knew that he had everything under control here, he took off down the hall. The instant he rounded a corner and was out of sight, he changed into his ghost half and went racing, invisible and intangible, through the walls at top speed.

Panting from exertion even as he wondered how he was still able to breathe as a ghost, he zipped past what seemed like a million empty hallways before finally reaching the room with his parents in it.

Danny zipped around the nearest corner to change back to human before running into the room as fast as his legs could carry him.

They were now only six inches from the lava, and getting closer with every passing moment.

Glancing frantically around the room, Danny's eyes fell upon a short knife lying on the floor off to one side. It was small, only about two inches long, but it would work.

He grabbed it and sprinted toward the pit. At the last possible second, Danny jumped, seeming to hang in the air forever before he hit his parents. For a moment it looked as though he might slip off, but his hand managed to grab the rope above his parents.

When they all started swinging like a pendulum, Danny cut through the rope in one smooth stroke. Jack and Maddie fell in a heap on the edge of the pit with their son sprawled on top of them.

Within a few seconds he was left lying on top of dirt and cold stone as his parents were teleported back to the correct dimension.

Dash arrived at this point and saw Danny lying flat on his back on the floor panting. The jock himself was even breathing heavily from that adrenaline rush and the race through the maze.

The same eerie laughter from before filled the room as Despair announced, speaking mostly to Danny, "You may have saved your parents, boy, but let's see how you do when some of the only people who accept who you are are in danger."

Danny paled at this, already having a bad idea of who this would be.

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**_(hands out kittens)_ Ok, in addition to the five I already told you about, which are all black and white like their mother, the other cat gave birth a couple days ago. Two are orange, one is light gray, another is dark gray tabby, and another is black. They haven't been named, though the gray tabby is gonna be Lightning and the light gray will be Eeyore. And I found out that we have another cat that is pregnant in addition to that. She should have them sometime in the next week, and we already have 19 cats!**

**Ok, hit that cute little button down there and let me know what you think. The more reviews I get, the faster I write, and the sooner you get an update! Oh, and if you can think of any good kitten names... we have an orange tabby, a light orange with white spots, and an all black that need good names, and I'm open for suggestions!**


	8. The Lion's Den

**Okay, I promised that I would update this weekend, and when I promise when I'm gonna update I generally don't let people down. That's why I'm saying that I don't know when the next one is gonna be. I have the next chapter almost completely finished, but I like to stay one chapter ahead. Depending on how fast I write, it might be posted in the middle of the week, it might be toward the end. I will promise you this: _No matter what, I will not leave you hanging for over a week without an update! _If I don't update before then, I promise you all that it will be before next Monday.**

**Thankeys for all the wonderful reviews and name ideas. I like "Eclipse" for the black one (_SquirrelGirl13_'s idea). And _fan-girls2.0_, I have a cat named Hershie already, so those ideas really apply! _Harm Marie_, I like the name, but might use it on an orange one instead. It might make my mom cry though, because I had a great-great-great-aunt Pearl who just died in February... If she's okay with it, I'd like to name the kitten that though.**

**You are all wrong! haha! I win! Of course, I'm the authoress, so I win anyway, but still... everyone thought it was Jazz, Sam, and Tucker, right? Read on and find out who it really was!**

**So this is Chapter 7: _The Lion's Den_. Enjoy!**

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Despair continued, "Somewhere in this maze I have your sister, your best friend, and your former girlfriend in a cage, with a hungry lion in another cage right next to them. A mechanism is rigged so that when the timer reaches zero the lion will be released into their cage. You have five minutes."

Even before the ghost had finished speaking, Danny was charging down the hall, wishing with all his might that he could go ghost to make the search go faster. Dash was right behind him though, so this option was unavailable at the moment, at least unless he got totally desperate.

In two minutes his breath was coming in short gasps as he pushed his already exhausted body to new heights.

He rounded a corner and suddenly came upon the cages Despair had spoken of, with half of his time gone.

A large screen with a keyboard below it took up nearly half of the left wall. The two boys immediately ran over to it, both knowing instantly that this was the way to free the three prisoners.

A series of _x_s, _o_s, lines, and arrows filled the screen. Dash soon began to read it the same way he read football plays.

"Okay, so the QB gets the ball, passes it over to his left. The receiver charges straight through the defense but has to turn to the left here to avoid being tackled. Then he has a straight sprint, and touchdown!"

Danny glanced from the screen to the keyboard and back again. "So… what's it called? What're we supposed to type?" He began to look closely at the path of the ball that Dash had just described.

The jock shrugged in response to the question. "I've never seen a play like this before."

Danny paused. "Is it supposed to look like something?"

Dash followed the trail with his finger. "It's just some stupid zigzag."

Danny's face lit up. "It's Cassiopeia!" His fingers raced across the keyboard as he typed the word and hit "enter". Valerie instantly disappeared from the cage.

Dash gave Danny a quizzical look. "What's a case-o-whatchamahoozit?"

"A constellation that appears ever year around November." Danny didn't even bother correcting Dash on his pronunciation of the constellation.

That had taken over a minute. The timer now showed "1:07".

Dash started reading the next screen, simply tracing his finger across it where the ball would go.

Danny quickly typed "Hydrus", and Tucker instantaneously disappeared from the cage.

Only Jazz remained stuck, but because of the complicated diagram that had been used, they only had 23 seconds to free her.

Danny determined that if the lion was released he would dive through the bars to save he. His sister's life was worth way more to him than his secret.

Dash began to read the next play. "QB gets the ball, takes two steps forward and to his right, then passes a long one with a slight spin to the left. The receiver has to double back a bit, then goes forward for touchdown."

Danny hesitated for a moment, studying the screen. "Aries!" he suddenly exclaimed. Practically holding his breath as he prayed franticly that he was right, Danny's fingers skimmed over the keyboard and hit "enter".

The timer stopped its steady ticking with four seconds to go. Jazz vanished, and Danny breathed a sigh of relief.

Dash looked at Danny, "How'd you know what that stuff was?"

Danny shrugged, "I've always wanted to be an astronaut. I dunno how realistic that is with my grades, but still…" He trailed off with a small sigh.

Dash remained silent. He had always dreamed of being a pro football player. At least he had a fairly large chance of living his dream.

Danny changed the subject, puzzled. "I can't help but wonder why Sam wasn't in there with the others… oh crud."

He had just heard an all too familiar scream echo through the hall.

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**Okay, I leave behind one cliffy and give you another! (_grins evily_) Don't you all just love me to death? Now you see why I didn't have Sam in the cage, I needed her for this next thing, which will be much more pivotal in the plot. Despair said, and I quote, "...when _some_ of the only people..." He never said _all_!**

**The more reviews the sooner the update! Oh, and I forgot to celebrate getting over the 100 mark! (_dances around like an idiot while confetti and streamers appear out of nowhere and fly everywhere_)**


	9. The Rebel

**I don't remember if I told you this yet or not, but this chapter is REALLY long compared with the others. To put it in perspective, Ch7 was 656 words, this is 1430.**

**I can't think of anything else to say right now, so anyway, this is Chapter 8: _The Rebel_**

**Don't you love how the title relates to Sam?**

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Danny took off once again, following the direction the sound had come from. Only a short distance away he saw a green glow coming from around the corner.

"Let go of me!" The cry was her voice, there was no doubting that.

"Sam!" he shouted, darting around the corner without thinking.

Instantly he was met by a roomful of all the enemies that he had not yet fought that day, minus Plasmius and his future self.

A grin lit up Ember's face as she took a step toward him, turning a dial on her guitar. Desiree followed suit, her eyes glinting as her hands began to glow pink. Walker, Skulker, Technus, the Lunch Lady, Spectra, and Bertrand were right behind them. The only one missing was- "Beware!" A familiar moronic blue face showed itself. Yep, everyone was here.

Ember was the first to attack, with a purple fist that flew from her guitar directly into Danny's chest. He was propelled into the wall with a grunt of pain.

Skulker attacked just as he was picking himself up, blasting him into the wall again, this time with a loud cry.

Danny didn't even bother getting to his feet this time, he merely leapt up from this position, taking down Technus in a tumbling blur of green and white. They finally stopped with Danny on top and the "Master of all Technology" very dazed, slumped against the wall. Technus didn't move as Danny plunged into the fray again.

Meanwhile, the Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost teamed up against Dash and were slowly but surely being beaten back. This maze was a little short of meat and cardboard, so they were at a slight disadvantage.

Danny grappled with Ember in much the same way as he had in their first fight. The main difference was that he had grown two inches taller and a whole lot stronger in the months since then, so this time he was actually winning. Of course, it also helped that now she didn't have hundreds of fans chanting her name…

He finally threw her off to one side just in time to duck Bertrand's beak and talons as a green eagle swooped down on him.

Desiree took advantage of his lack of concentration right away, grabbing Danny's wrists and twisting them behind his back in a very unnatural position.

He screamed as Skulker sent an electrical current through his body, then again as Desiree flung him against the wall.

Dash was now against three adversaries. Technus had joined the other two as soon as his head had stopped spinning. Not only were meat and cardboard in short supply here, so was technology. He wasn't usually looked upon as the ghost with the most common sense, but he knew enough to know that without his technology he had no chance of beating Danny. Heck, even with it he had never succeeded. Dash was a much more fair adversary, especially when he was outnumbered three to one.

Danny wasn't having much more luck than Dash was, and groaned softly as Spectra fed off his emotions and became more powerful.

Suddenly, she was knocked away by some unseen force. Danny looked over and saw a black combat boot next to him. He smiled as he got to his feet. "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna fight and you were just gonna run around screaming for help like Paulina."

Sam glared at him, making a face at the mention of the most popular- and most shallow- girl in school.

Danny stuck out his tongue in return.

The two friends stood back-to-back, both in fighting stances.

Sam darted through the group of ghosts, throwing punches and kicks in every direction. She managed to lure Walker, Desire, and Spectra over with her, while Danny stayed more-or-less where he was as he faced off with Skulker, Ember, and Bertrand.

Dash finally gained an advantage over his three opponents when he knocked Technus out for good.

Danny came flying past him with a scream, courtesy of Skulker, bouncing and skidding on the floor until he finally came to a stop against the wall. He groaned and didn't move for several seconds. The boy at last hoisted himself gingerly to his feet.

He saw Dash struggling in the fight with the Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost, and got an idea. "Hey Walker, did you mean what you just said about changing the prison menu?"

The Lunch Lady turned to the warden with murder- or whatever it was called when you did it to a ghost- in her eyes. "You changed the menu?"

While Dash stared dumbfounded at them, Danny landed a hard punch to the side of the Box Ghost's head and took down Bertrand in a yowling ball of green, blue, and white.

Hair flew in every direction as the cougar snarled angrily and roared, sinking his teeth into Danny's calf. The boy gasped sharply in pain as the gleaming ivories pierced his skin. This only proved to fuel his anger, however, because he had soon knocked Bertrand quite some distance down the hall with a single blow.

Dash winced, then joined Danny to try to defeat Skulker and Ember. Sam moved closer, along with Desiree and Spectra.

Dash gaped, "Dude, I can't hit a girl, that's like, so wrong!"

Sam rolled her eyes, "They're already dead, it's not like you're gonna seriously hurt them or anything like that."

"She's right," Danny announced grimly, giving him a pointed look. "It's either hit them or die when they hit you, and personally I prefer the first option." As he was speaking he grabbed hold of Ember's guitar, somehow yanking it out of her hands. He swung it in a sharp arc, slamming the instrument into Desiree, who fell into Spectra, sending them both tumbling.

Dash began to occupy Skulker as Ember tackled Danny. They went down to the ground and he was pinned to the floor by her hands on his wrists. Danny struggled, but was unable to push the ghostly rock star off of him.

He was just so tired. He may spend his spare time warding off the undead, and most of the time many were not all that hard to beat, but it had been several hours since detention had let out. He was only fourteen, for crying out loud!

Most people his age played video games and hung out at the mall. Every time he tried to do something like that he was interrupted. He just wished- not out loud, Desiree was around- that he could be like everybody else. But he wasn't. He had ghost powers, and with them the responsibility of keeping Amity Park safe.

And he wasn't about to let them down now.

With a grunt, he managed to get his legs up and throw Ember off him. Sam was handling Spectra easily, but now Desiree was sneaking up behind her.

Danny ran over, shoving past the ghosts and hauling Sam away. They made it to a section of the maze that was away from the heat of the fight. "Tell everyone that we'll be fine," he gasped. "We'll get out of here as soon as we can."

Sam nodded, smiling at him as she faded away.

**(AN: okay, show of hands, how many of you wonderful devoted readers were expecting him to have to transform to save Sam? Come on, be honest. I love surprising people. -sighs- One of the joys of being the authoress...)**

Danny ran back into the fray and surveyed the situation. The Lunch Lady and Walker were still arguing. Bertrand and the Box Ghost were coming back now, though at least Technus was still out cold. Spectra, Desiree, Ember, and Skulker had Dash backed into a corner.

Danny was totally and completely bone weary exhausted. There was no way he would be able to hold his own against them all without using his powers, and even then it would be difficult.

Dash wouldn't be much help. He had had trouble against just the Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost. Skulker was laughing sinisterly now as a glowing green blade protruded from his arm. He aimed it for Dash's neck.

Danny stood still for a moment, unsure of what he was going to do. This was the boy who shoved him into lockers and/or beat him up on at least a daily basis. He knew that the jock would deserve it if he just sat back and let Skulker kill him.

But that was the coward's way out. He was supposed to be the hero. Heroes don't choose who to save and who not to save. Some people deserved to die and some didn't, but it wasn't his decision to make.

Danny made his decision.

"I'm Going Ghost!" A blue-white ring of light appeared encircling his waist, separated, and repelled itself across his body.

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**-claps and jumps up and down- Yay me!**

**I really like this chapter. Just thought you should know that. And you should also know that I just finished the next chapter, and I will try to update again next weekend by this same time. I generally like to get at least one chapter ahead.**

**BTW, the orange kitten has been dubbed Creamsicle, the black is Eclipse, the gray and white is Eeyore, and the gray tabby is Lightning. Eclipse is the only boy, and he doesn't have a single white hair anywhere on his body. Out of the five black and white ones, one has a spot on her nose (Spot); one is all black with no white, just like Eclipse (Scooby); one is black with a white chin, stomach, and paws (Fang); one is black and white with a mostly white face (Snoopy); and one is black and white but mostly black (Fido). Fang is the only boy. The "dogs" are three weeks old, the others are one.**

**Lots of reviews means faster updates!**


	10. Fight For Life

**I had fun with last chapter and with this one, though the last one was slightly more fun to write. _AirGirl Phantom_, I made Danny so kick-butt in human mode to help balance how he was able to pummel Dash earlier. Plus, he's been fighting these ghosts for a long time by now, so I figured he can probably stand up for himself for a short period of time without going ghost. I basicly needed to get rid of Sam and make Danny have no other choice but to transform, and needed to draw it out a little first. Plus, I'm the writer so I can do almost anything I want to (alas, I am limited to just in my creations and am still unable to fly anywhere but in my dreams)! Yay me!**

**In addition to making Danny totally kick-butt, I also increased the stupidity level on the ghosts (well... I didn't have to do anything to the Box Ghost...) so they wouldn't think to become intangible. Just because, as I said earlier, I needed to draw it out a bit before I had Danny transform.**

**I can't think of anything else to say here, so on to Chapter 9: _Fight For Life._**

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Dash paused in mid-punch, gaping at Danny.

As the ring of light passed over him, shimmering silver gloves encased his hands. His normal white and red t-shirt and blue jeans changed into a black and silver Hazmat suit that looked all-too-familiar. Red and white sneakers were encased in silver boots.

Danny closed his eyes as the bright ring of light approached his face, now showing the same emblem on his chest…. Ebony hair turned to pearly silver-white.

Skulker turned to Danny, a mixture of shock and fear adorning his mechanical features.

Looking around, Dash saw that the other ghosts all had similar expressions on their faces, some with hatred or anger mixed in.

Glowing neon green eyes narrowed at the ghosts, and Spectra and Desiree each inadvertently took a step back.

Skulker held his ground, as did Ember, Bertrand, and the Box Ghost.

The Lunch Lady and Walker paused in their argument to gape at Danny in disbelief that he would actually willingly reveal his secret.

The silence was broken by the whir as Skulker's missiles charged and the soft click as Ember turned the knob on her guitar. The Box Ghost shouted, "Beware!"

The fight was on.

Danny jumped into the air to avoid a blast from Ember, then while still in midair he had to dart quickly to the left to avoid shots from Skulker. He never saw Bertrand until the cougar's claws sank deep into his shoulders.

Danny hissed air through his teeth in a sharp gasp of pain, then he shot down Bertrand with an ectoblast.

When the green shape shifter hit the wall he actually stuck before he started to slide downward.

With a growl of rage, Danny nailed him with an unbelievingly powerful blast, blowing the ghost right through the wall in a barely contained explosion.

Dash finally completed his punch, sending Spectra through the hole as well.

Walker's form nearly doubled in size as he towered over the floating Danny, booming, "You still owe me 1,000 years, punk."

The boy glared at him. "Forget it, creep!" His words were punctuated by a perfectly aimed roundhouse kick that sent the warden flying into the recovering Bertrand and Spectra, knocking them all back again.

Ectoblasts nailed the Box Ghost and Lunch Lady, sending them flying over to Dash, where he treated them both to a solid punch. This sent them back in Danny's direction. He flipped expertly, kicking out with both feet and hitting both ghosts in the face. They were driven into the ground, where they lay very still and made no attempt to get back up.

Danny didn't see Ember's attack until it was too late to avoid it. She brought her guitar down on his spine with a sickening crack, throwing him to the ground.

Danny skidded for several yards before he was brought to a rather unpleasant halt by his head hitting the wall. The boy groaned and made no attempt to move as Skulker fired missiles at him again. This time he was the one who created the whole in the wall, flopping to the ground like a rag doll.

Dazed and barely still conscious, he somehow managed to pick himself up. He floated wearily back to the main hall, having to swerve several times on the way to avoid blasts from Desiree.

Alighting on the floor a few feet from Dash, Danny looked at the approaching ghosts. Six of the most powerful of his recurring enemies were approaching the boys, and they were all absolutely livid with rage.

Danny closed his eyes for a few seconds and seemed to come to a decision. When they sprang back open they seemed to be alight with radiant electricity that made them such a bright green that they were almost painful to look at.

Danny spoke softly, a mix of determination ad desperation showing in his voice. "Get behind me and cover your ears."

The quarterback did as he was told without question. Before he covered his ears, he could have sworn he heard Danny mutter something like, "Hope this works."

Then the smaller boy took a deep breath. A wailing sound filled the hall, shattering stone and blowing the ghosts away. Visible green sound waves echoed and reverberated until Danny finally ran out of energy. The blue rings appeared around his waist again, reverting him back to his normal form.

Danny leaned over, hands on his knees, panting heavily for a moment before dropping to his hands and knees. The wail had had its desired effect, and the six remaining ghosts were slumped in heaps all over the floor.

Dash blinked at the boy, finally getting a chance to ask a question. "How are you-"

"My parents made a portal that was supposed to lead to the ghost zone," Danny cut him off. "It didn't work, so I went in to check it out. It turned on while I was in there."

Dash winced. "So you're dead now? You're a ghost?"

"Half ghost, technically." Then the strain of the whole day finally caught up to Danny. Still breathing hard, his eyes closed and he collapsed in a heap on the ground.

This may not have been a good thing, but at least it gave Dash the chance to attempt comprehending what had just happened

Sometimes when you add two and two the answer is not four. He was no stranger to the phrase. Only now did that finally make sense

When you add two and two together you should end up with four- that answer is logical. But the discovery he had just made was anything but logical.

Danny Fenton, a clumsy geek that could never do anything right and had hardly any friends, plus one very freaky accident should not equal Danny Phantom, a hero who placed himself in danger repeatedly to save the town from ghostly attacks.

It just wasn't logical.

But it was true.

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**((_dances))_ Please review if you liked it! Or, even if you didn't, drop me a note. I wanna get to at least 175 reviews and I only have another chapter or two and an epilogue left.**

**I'll update again by next weekend. I'm working tomorrow and Tuesday, starting school on Thursday, and working on Saturday and possibly Sunday as well, so it may be a little harder for me to update on time, but I will make every effort to bring you the next chapter by then.**


	11. Unraveling the Folklore

**I am _so_ sorry for the long wait! I didn't realize that cross country, homework, and work would take up so much of my time. I am halfway done with the last chapter right now, but I never get a chance to type them, which is why you guys had such a long wait. Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews. Oh, and special thanks to _Griffinkhan_ for pointing out my mistake. I'll be editing that part soon, so if you had a question about it feel free to look through the previous chapter again.**

**Well, because of the long wait I'm sure you are all impatient to get to Chapter 10:_ Unraveling the Folklore_.**

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It was close to two hours later when Fenton groaned and rolled over onto his back. Raising one hand wearily to his forehead without opening his eyes, he moaned, "I hate it when this happens. Note to self: Never use Ghostly Wail _ever_ again."

Well, at least he was acting normally…

Danny opened his eyes, sat up, and managed to scoot over to the wall and lean against it, immediately closing this eyes again. The boy was obviously still exhausted.

Come to think of it, Dash had often heard of Phantom being involved in ghost fights around 2:00 AM, which really explained why Danny was constantly falling asleep in class.

The frequent ghost attacks also accounted for why he was always late for class, or ran out in the middle of them, sometimes missing them entirely. And why he was always appearing in strange places at strange times, running around corners without paying attention and bumping into people.

Dash had always just attributed it to him being weird or trying to make trouble and attract attention. Now that he knew the truth all the pieces were falling into place. It was a wonder he hadn't seen it before. Of course, why would he? Nobody had ever dreamed that a being such as this could exist, and those who thought it was possible had no idea how it would actually happen.

This explained so much. How Danny was able to beat him up so easily earlier, how he always seemed confident and assured of himself, sometimes even cocky, during fights. How he had told that strange Danny Phantom earlier… wait a minute, what _was_ all that about?

Getting Danny's attention, he decided to ask directly. "What was with you and that ghost in the beginning that looked kind of like you?"

Fenton's eyes opened, and the quarterback was instantly captivated by the intense pain ad self-hatred he saw in them. A humorless chuckle escaped the boy's lips. "Would you believe me if I told you that it was an evil version of my future self from an alternate timeline?"

Dash blinked, and Danny looked away, staring at the floor with a deep haunted look invading his sky blue eyes.

"How'd that happen?" Dash couldn't resist asking. Danny winced, and Dash was immediately sorry he had.

In a strained monotone, Fenton told him, "I cheated on the C.A.T.'s. Lancer called my parents and told them to meet him at the Nasty Burger. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz came to warn us that the sauce was getting overheated. They were all standing right next to the building when it exploded."

Danny closed his eyes and swallowed past the lump in his throat, then continued. "I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I went to one of my parent's old friends from college. I asked him to rip out my ghost half to get rid of my human emotions. My ghost half ripped out his; I didn't think of what would happen when the two halves came together to make a whole."

He had given a nearly identical explanation to Sam, Tucker, and Jazz after his experiences in the future.

Dash had, unfortunately, picked up on the part of the story that Danny had hoped he wouldn't. "Wait, so you ripped out someone else's ghost half- which, by the way, sounds totally gross." Danny smirked. "Does that mean there are other people like you?"

The smirk faded and Danny sighed as he stood and began ambling slowly down the hall. "Only two others. The guy I just mentioned got his powers from an accident in college. He thinks my dad ruined his life and cost him his only chance at my mom. Now he's trying to kill him and marry her, and make me his evil apprentice or something like that."

Dash gave him a look that said plainly that he was _very_ wierded out. Then he asked who the other was.

"A failed cloning attempt by the fruit loop. She starts melting into goop every time she uses her powers, though."

Dash paused for a second. "Hold on, _she_? Your clone is a girl?"

Danny glared at him, "Hey, I said she was a _failed_ cloning attempt!" Then he commented wryly, "After all this I can't believe I almost went steady with a ghost hunter."

Dash stopped short, blinking. "Sam's a ghost hunter?"

Danny's jaw dropped. "No moron, I'm talking about Val-" he stopped short, realizing that he probably shouldn't tell Dash who she was, but it was too late.

"Valerie? But I've never seen her hunting ghosts!"

Danny sighed, "That's because she's got a mask, a jet sled, and a huge grudge against ghosts, mostly me." He winced. "I keep telling her that the ghost dog was the reason her dad lost his job, and that I was trying to stop it, but she never listens."

Dash blinked in disbelief… again. "But if she was broke, where'd she get the weapons and stuff?"

Danny was just about to tell the jock that he had no idea when he was cut off by a silky smooth and all-too-familiar voice. "I provided them. Nice to see you again, Daniel."

The boy turned to the newcomer, eyes narrowed and flashing green as he growled, "Vlad."

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**Okay, because you guys are all so fabulous, I now have 180 reviews and two chapters to go, plus the epilogue! My goal is to get at least 20 reviews for each chapter, hopefully making it to 250 by the time this is over.**

**Let me know what you think, if I had any glaring mistakes, anything like that. You peeps are wonderful!**


	12. Scrambled Thoughts

**Okay, so now we're on to the ever popular Vlad confrontation. Thanks to all you wonderful people for giving me such fantastic reviews!**

**This is a little short, so sorry, but there's only one more chapter and an epilogue left. I have both already typed and loaded onto the site, so I'll probably update next weekend and the one after that, then start working double time on my next story. Read my profile for more information on future fics, and I posted a poll on there that I want you all to reply to when you review this chapter. The one that you guys choose will become my primary focus for the next several weeks at least, depending on if I get myself (Writer's Block) or not.**

**Anyway, this is Chapter 11: _Scrambled Thoughts_.**

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Dash turned around to see a man with blue tinted skin, black hair swept up so it looked like horns, and fangs showing as he grinned. A red and white cape billowed out behind him as he looked at the boys through crimson eyes.

Dash remembered what Danny had said earlier about Despair copying "the whole 'cape and red eyes' thing" from a guy named Vlad. This must be him.

"So nice to see you again, Son."

Danny's eyes narrowed and flashed green as he growled, "Don't call me that! I'm not your son and I never will be! What are you doing here?"

Vlad, unfazed by the "scary eyes", replied, "Just checking to make sure my associate did his job properly."

Danny lashed out an arm, firing an ectoblast and actually catching Vlad by surprise. "You sent Despair?" He changed into his ghost form and fired another ectoplasmic energy blast.

This time Vlad was ready and blocked it with a pink shield. "Of course. The only way he'll let you out of here is if you join me."

Danny stared at him in disbelief. "Dude, your brains are more scrambled than eggs. Never gonna happen. Will you just hurry up and get a cat or something? I'm running out of breakfast names to call you."

Dash started chuckling and Vlad sent Danny a glare that, if looks could kill, would have reduced him to a smoldering pile of ashes. Instead of completely obliterating the boy, Vlad instead would up hitting him with twin red beams from his eyes.

Danny was sent hurdling backward until he gained control and flew toward Plasmius again. He abruptly forced to dive into Dash to push them both out of the way of another blast. The boys tumbled across the floor into a wall.

Danny's head cracked against the stone and he cried out in pain. Dash's fall had been somewhat cushioned by the smaller boy, who he had wound up on top of. They quickly untangled themselves.

Danny had only just stood back up when Vlad grabbed his wrist and yanked him off the ground. Danny screamed as an electric shock coursed through his body. In just a few moments the electricity waned and his head fell forward, limbs becoming limp.

Plasmius whipped him through the air the short distance to the wall, then grabbed him around the neck, lifting his easily into the air.

Hands flying up in a desperate attempt to breathe, Danny managed to gasp out two words. "I win."

Vlad laughed. "You can't honestly believe that, dear boy. How would you possibly win?" The strength of his grip had lessened slightly, however, as he tried to work out that statement.

That was all Danny needed. He was able to draw in a quick shaky breath. This gave him the strength to attempt to break free, as he concentrated as hard as he could on becoming intangible. It worked, though only for a split second. He slipped out of Vlad's grip, regaining tangibility immediately.

While Danny was on his hands and knees simply reveling in the act of breathing, Dash made his move. In an expert tackle he brought Vlad to the ground and pinned the elder man on his stomach.

He had momentarily forgotten that he was up against a ghost, however, and Vlad slipped free with barely a thought.

This had bought Danny precious seconds in regaining his breath. Now Phantom stood beside the quarterback, both watching their adversary as he melted away, though it seemed voluntary.

They were alone again, with many more questions and hardly any answers. And they were still trapped with no way to get out.

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**And special thanks to PotterPhan21 for the inspiration for the title to this chapter.**

**Oh, kitten update. We are giving away most of them. Fang and Lightning went yesterday, and Scooby and Fido are gone now. All we have left is Eclipse (all black male) and Snoopy (black and white female).**

**So don't forget to respond to the poll question when you review. Only two more updates after this!**

**Review goal for this chapter: 225**


	13. Former Master

**Thank you great peeps for all the wonderful reviews!!!**

**The poll is going as follows:**

**Don't care: 1**

**Lancer: 3**

**Poison Control: 2**

**Checkmate: 1**

**Animal Control: 1**

**and everybody else didn't vote. I hadn't even started Lancer yet, but am now three pages into it (in a notebook, not typed) because that seems to be the one coming out ahead. The poll is still on, so if you didn't vote yet please give me your opinion.**

**So, this is Chapter 12: _Former Master_**

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Danny sat against the wall, lazily watching Dash as he paced back and forth.

The quarterback was gesticulating wildly as he raged and panicked about their current situation. "…So now we're stuck here and have no idea how to get out! And it's all your fault, Fenton!"

Danny shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. What were you planning to do about that?"

Dash paused, clearly at a loss for a reply. He had no idea how long they had been in this crazy dimension, but it had to have been at least 12 hours. _My parents are gonna totally freak, especially when I tell them about Fenton being half ghost._ Dash hadn't realized he had spoken this last part aloud until he caught Danny's suddenly panicked look.

"You can't do that!"

Now he was just confused. "Why not?" Sure it had been a secret before, but he didn't see any real reason to keep it that way.

Danny gave him an incredulous stare. "Valerie's a ghost hunter, remember? So are my parents! And the Guys in White have been after me for months! All of them have huge arsenals of ghost weapons and want to tear me apart molecule by molecule!"

Something Danny had said in his surprise rant a while back had stuck in Dash's head. The part about him wanting Lancer to try living his life. Now he sort of saw why.

With all these ghost hunters after him, including his almost-girlfriend and his parents, it was no wonder that the boy was stressed. And the ghost thing was making him miss school, not get his homework done, and hiss enough sleep that he was constantly falling asleep during the classes he managed to attend.

Dash was all too aware of the many times he had shoved Fenton into lockers, run him up the flagpole, and given him swirlies. And every time the boy had just taken it. He never fought back, and though he occasionally complained or pulled pranks, he had never done anything about it.

That could be looked at as either really idiotic or really nice. Probably both.

He finally voiced his question out loud. "Why did you always let me beat you up?"

Danny sighed, looking at his feet. "I use my powers to kick ghosts out of town, not to attack people or get back at people I don't like. I'll never attack a human unless I absolutely have to."

A sinister voice chuckled. "How noble of you."

A face that was becoming way too familiar appeared in front of the two boys. This way only the second time Despair had actually come out, though he had projected his image to them a couple of times.

And now Danny was mad enough at him that he was out or blood… er, ectoplasm… or whatever it is that ghosts have. Changing from Fenton to Phantom with absolutely no hesitation, Danny launched himself at Despair and performed a flying tackle that would have made the football coach proud. He soon had the evil ghost pinned to the ground.

For the one who had spent quite a lot of time tormenting the two boys, he wasn't really too powerful of an adversary in hand to hand combat.

Holding tightly onto Despair's wrists while his knees dug into the dimension twister's stomach, Danny growled, "Send us home. Now."

Baring his teeth, Despair glared back. "If I must. What shall I do with my former master?"

Danny thought for a moment, then said something quietly to Despair.

The ghost grinned and waved his hand. Black and red smoke twisted together, encompassing the forms of Danny and Dash. Their vision was completely blocked, and they eventually lost sight of each other. Then the fog began to clear, and Danny took the opportunity while he was still hidden to change back to human.

When the haze finally left completely, the boys found themselves just outside the school.

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**((cries)) This is the last chapter. Only the epilogue is left.**

**For those of you who care, I've now joined the bowling team at school and cross country isn't even over yet. This could get _very_ hectic. I will continue working on Lancer because I have an hour long bus ride to school every morning except Thursday. If the votes in the poll change drastically, I will be perfectly willing to shift my focus or switch steadily back and forth between two for a while until I hit Writer's Block (myself! hehe) on one of them. So let me know what you think, and please read all my fic ideas while you're on my profile, because I am still in need of names for a few. I know you guys have some creative imaginations because of all the response I got when I asked for kitten names, so give me some feedback on this too, okay?**

**I'll put up the eppy when I get to at least 140 reviews, unless next Sunday comes and I don't have that many.**


	14. epilogue

**Wow, the epilogue already. This is about the same length as the prologue, with thank yous to everyone at the bottom.**

**-sobs- I'm going to be so sad to see this one go. Sorry about the slight delay, my brother's been hogging the computer this weekend.**

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They had only just taken in their surroundings when a bell tone sounded and a stampede of teenagers came charging out through the double doors. Dash managed to hold his ground as the crowd surged past him. Danny wasn't so lucky. When the huge mass of students thinned out, he was on the ground about 30 feet from where he had just been.

Mr. Lancer walked up to the door. "Mr. Fenton, care to explain where you were today?"

Danny cringed, glancing quickly at Dash. "Uh…"

The quarterback cut him off, "He was with me."

Mr. Lancer looked surprised at this – with good reason, as Dash was not normally one to defend Danny. Without bothering to question the information that the jock had supplied, the teacher merely nodded and went back inside.

A blue eyed stare fell on Dash. "Does he always do that for you, or is it just when I'm around?"

The reply was cut off by an enthusiastic embrace from Sam Manson. "Danny! We were so worried about you!"

Tucker Foley rolled his eyes behind Sam's back at the bright blush that was spreading across Danny's face.

When Sam pulled away Danny stuck his tongue out at her. "Nice to know you trusted me so much when I said I'd get back soon."

She crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue as well. "Well, excuse me for caring." In mock anger, she turned away.

Danny pouted. "I sowrie."

Dash wasn't sure if he should think of this as sweet because of the way they were flirting, or if he should be disgusted because neither seemed to notice.

"So what actually happened to you guys?" Tucker finally asked.

Danny wound up explaining the whole thing from the beginning when Despair first showed up in the school what seemed like ages ago. He ended with Despair sending them back to their own dimension, and Dash added on a promise that Danny's secret was safe, at least for the time being.

"So, what did you wind up telling Despair to do with Vlad?" Sam asked.

Danny smirked.

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Vivid curses danced through Vlad's mind as he walked briskly and angrily down the cold stone hallway. When he got his powers back, Despair was going to _pay_ for this.

He shivered as a cool breeze blew through the hall, then looked down to find that he was wearing nothing but his underwear. _Oh, butternuts._

He was _beyond_ mad now. By the time he was done, Despair would be in more pieces than the amount of dollars he had in the bank.

Storming around a corner, he found himself standing in front of a large paper wall stretched across the wall. What really infuriated him were the words scrawled across it in huge black and green letters. "_Hey fruitloop- get a cat!_"

The paper ripped open from the middle as something came at him through it from the other side. Now he was standing face to face with a snarling – and very hungry – lion.

He stared at the beast for a moment, then turned on his heels and took off sprinting down the hall in his underwear, screaming the whole way, the lion right on his heels.

Only one thought pulsed through his head as he ran. "_I hate cats_."

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**Okay, okay, I know, I love the visual too. Just the idea of Vlad runing down a hall in his underwear screaming with a lion chasing him was WAY too good to pass up.**

**While I am somewhat upset that this will be ending, I have decided to begin working on Lancer. It's a very sad idea, and I;ve nearly started crying twice just writing it. A surefire heartbreaker. I will probably call it either "What Could Have Been" or "After the Fact". I came up with them during a Spanish test, and don't even _ask_ how that worked. Please tell me your opinion on the title when you review.**

**Speaking of review, thanks to all you great people for your wonderful imput. Your reviews encourage me to write faster and not put down this fic until it was done like I have with all the others that I have started and not begun to post yet. So, thanks to:**

AmandaPhantom, American-Idiot14, animegurl088, Arabic Blessing, Blaidd Drwg, blindyourears, Breaking Away Bit By Bit, coolgirlc, Crazy About Purple, crazychick6692, Dannyandsamlover, Daphne22, dessyweird51, DP fan, Dphomegurl, ghostanimal, Ghost-Girl1591, ghostlover15, Ghost-Wolf676, Ginger Guardian Angel, gjcoolio, Griffinkhan, Harm Marie, HiddenAuthor, I LOVE SORA AND DANNY, Idiots Unite, info62, KatrinaKaiba, kennyk12, Kya - The Mystical Tigeress, Leppers, FernClaw, Lil-Sango, lindy12, Lunargurl101, lynn138, maniacmuppet13, Melody of Shadow, mordechaimalachai, NebuNeferu, PhantomShadowKat, Psycho Rooster, Pterodactyl, purrbaby101, Shadowsonicstar, SkeksisGirl, Sleep Warrior, SoulcatSpirit, southernstarshadow, Sparky the Wonder Weasel, Sparky-Will-Avenge, Sunny Bubble, TexasDreamer01, The Bushranger, The Poisoned Doughnut of DOOM, TheSummoningDark, ur1crazedupfruitloop, Vickie Prestwich, Viskii, Wolfee, and Yenattirb.

**The reviewers listed above reviewed up to 5 chapters. Sorry if I missed anyone. In case you didn't notice, I took the trouble to make them in alphabetical order.**

**The people listed below reviewed more than 5 chapters. Nobody reviewed every one, so there are no special prizes for that, but acosta perez jose ramiro, Horselvr4evr123, LovelyxBunchaxCoconuts, and SquirrelGirl13 were the ones that stood out most from the rest. And I could never forget my personal message from Meagainsttheworld asking when I would be able to update again. You special people each get a five foot tall fuzzy stuffed teddy bear.**

acosta perez jose ramiro, AirGirl Phantom, Becky Yuy, Blackstar456, Bunny Bubble, fan-girls2.0, FernClaw, Fernpaw, Ghostboy814, Horselvr4evr123, Leppers, LovelyxBunchaxCoconuts, Meagainsttheworld, mrturtle518, Narugirl94, PotterPhan21, SquirrelGirl13, and The Sleep Warrior.

**All of the people I just listed deserve a big stuffed bear, but I don't have enough to go around, so you can have a three foot stuffed alligator instead.**

**The stats for this fic as of this moment are as follows: 10673 hits, 4 c2s, 54 favs, and 73 alerts. The fic is 13916 words long, including authors notes and not including this update.**

**Well, I've been blathering on like a Jack Fenton for quite some time now, so I'll just get right on to the end. Please review and let me know your opinion on the title for Lancer and let me know what you think as far as which fic I should start next. I'm not sure, but I think that I will start working on that one after I finish Lancer.**

**Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed that part as much as I have enjoyed this one!**


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